What More Can I Say?
by always the q u i e t ones
Summary: Ginny Weasley died during the final war that took place at Hogwarts, and Hermione is a literal wreck without her. But, will a certain Draco Malfoy help her back on her feet? DHr shipping rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, I realize I already have one out, but I like the detail I actually put into this one. I was not in a good mood one night, and this is what I got out of that bad mood. So, enjoy.  
**

What More Can I Say?

**Prologue** Losing Someone Is Harder Than You Think 

_A clouded look appeared in the girl's eyes as she lay on the stairs, unmoving, but still breathing.. barely. A voice broke through the swimming pool of thoughts, 'Ginny! You have to get up! Ginny!' it screamed frantically. And something was pushing her, prodding her, pulling her.. But she didn't want to get up. She needed to rest.. she needed to sleep, if only for a few minutes.._

"_Ginny!" Hermione screamed as her friend slowly closed her eyes. Hermione was battered, bruised, and torn, but she didn't go through all this hell just to lose her best friend. No, she went through all this hell so everyone could keep living on, and live in peace.._

"_Ginny! Wake up, please, just wake up," Hermione pleaded desperately, dropping to her knees beside her fallen friend, crying heavily, holding the girl in her arms._

"_Ginny.. you have to get up.." Hermione whispered again, closing her eyes as she put her head on Ginny's shoulder, torso heaving with sobs._

"_Hermione, it's too late.." Ron whispered, voice laced with tears. _

"_Its never too late! Don't you ever think that Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, looking up at her friend with furious eyes, "She's not dead.. she's not dead.."_

That one day stole Hermione's best friends from the world.. from the promise she had made, and from her blossoming life. Now, if you see Hermione Granger on the street, nothing is held in her eyes. Nothing but wished death.. nothing but sorrow, and a void that needed to be filled, but couldn't.

Hermione Granger was dead inside.

**Chapter 1**

_Retaliation_

Hermione Granger walked quickly through the streets of Diagon Alley, staring blankly at the people who peered at her as if she had some kind of illness and they had the curtesy not to point it out whilst she was standing right in front of them.

'_Let them wonder why I'm no longer with Ron and Harry, let them wonder what happened.. but they'll never know.. they'll never understand..'_ Hermione thought bitterly as she pushed her way into Flourish and Blotts, making her way to the back, where a small reading section had been erected for people who wished to read during their visit.

A slender hand pulled a copy of _Whilst I Think Of You _from her bag as she settled into a large, over-stuffed, burgundy couch, her head resting lightly on the arm as she laid her body out on the rest. A small sigh pushed through her pale pink lips as she opened to her current page, and started reading furiously.

The book was generally about a girl who had lost her best friend to famine in the late 1500's, making Hermione wonder if this related to her own current situation.. and the more she thought of it, the more it made sense to her.. because of Ginny.

Eyebrows furrowed as she reached a sappy part of her chapter, and she stopped reading abruptly, slamming the hard-back shut as she sat up on the couch. She didn't want a hopeless romantic, she wanted a serious, straight-to-the-point story about.. well, her situation. Something that might help her cope, something that might make the pain finally go away.

And, as she stood, and started searching, a thought came to mind. _Where were Ron and Harry now?_ It had been quite a few months since the final war, and Harry was probably living it up in some famous Wizarding Community.. while Ron was probably still moping about the Burrow with his family..

And where was Hermione? Living her life day-to-day, never looking for adventure anymore, never wondering why she was there, never questioning why she lived this way. Never questioning what Ginny would think of the pathetic life she lived if she were alive. Never wondering why she didn't try and move on.. never actually _able_ to move on.

Fingers ran across the spines of books, stopping on a certain one here and there, but never actually pulling one from its shelf.. until she reached the black book with gold lettering. Until that gold lettering caught her eye.. and the title fit just perfectly to what she was thinking.

_What If You Had Lived?_

It came so close to her own reality, it was almost scary.. yet so taunting and tantalizing. Hermione pulled the book from its shelf casually, skimming through the front cover and skipping the dedications.. most of them, at least. One of them caught her eye..

'_To all those out there that think losing someone very close is where their life ends.. well, it doesn't. Don't throw your life away.. do you think they would have wanted it?'_

Hermione's caramel eyes filled to the brim with tears as she stared at the dedication for a few minutes, wondering whether the book was magical to fit the mood of the person, and their past experiences.. their _thoughts_.

And, without a second thought to it, Hermione grabbed her stuff and marched right up to the desk and bought the book. She'd be damned to miss such a good read as this one, and she be damned if she continued her life this way without at least skimming the book first.

As soon as the book was bought, Hermione marched out of Flourish and Blotts, then spun around on one foot, clinging tightly to her newly bought purchase, and apparated back to her flat in Birmingham, England, hoping all the while that the book, whatever it was, would help her get out of the swirling vortex her life was now..

Draco Malfoy heaved a heavy sigh as he walked out onto his balcony, placing his pale hands into the pockets of his slacks, and staring over the grounds that were now his, and the only thing he had left of his father. The only thing that gave any evidence to whether his father had actually _been_ here or not.

No, his father hadn't died, yet. But he was in Azkaban, and legally, since his father was there for life, all the inheritance, lands, and businesses got dropped right onto Draco's unsuspecting lap. Maybe he wasn't ready for any of this, and maybe he wasn't grown-up enough to deal with any of it. But he had to, and he didn't have a choice nor say in the matter. At all.

He could still remember the day perfectly, when he had received the news of his father's imprisonment.. and his mother's death. He had remembered all too well the surprised, anger, and shame he had felt at that exact moment when he really thought about it. Every fleeting emotion, the pride and dignity, giving way to the irresponsibility and disrespect his father had brought the Malfoy name.

But most of all.. he still remembered the _hate_ he had felt so strongly.

He still remembered, quite clearly, the sadness in his mother's eyes when she found out he had been imprisoned.. the guilt, and more shame. Draco remember well the sound of his mother's screams later that night when Nott had tortured her to death.. and then made Draco watch him finally finish her off.

Yes, he had felt sadness, anger, and unreputed fury surging through his veins. The very same fury that had helped Draco commit the very first crime in his adolescent life. He had murdered Theodore Nott because Nott had killed his own mother.

And now, Draco lived with the guilt of everything. The guilt of his father's imprisonment, something he felt he could have stopped, and his mother's death.. something he knew he could have stopped, something he _would_ have stopped if he had known it was going on in his very own home.. and now the guilt that he had taken another human being's life.

And he knew that guilt would never leave.

So, now, Draco stared down at the forest that surrounded his home, wondering why he had been given all this so early. Wondering why his father had been so foolish as to get caught, and wondering why he hadn't been taught all the skills of running an estate and over three dozen businesses earlier on.

But most of all, wondering how he had gotten here today.

And he knew the exact answer to that; it was all his father's fault.

His father's fault he had never taught Draco even the _basics_ of this, his father's fault he was in prison, his father's fault his mother had gotten killed as a punishment to the family, his father's fault Draco felt all this confusion inside. His father's fault that Draco felt like this..

.. but Draco's fault he kept the feeling alive with hate, rage, and despondency.

Draco only had himself to blame for any of this. Only himself to blame.. and now he only blamed himself. It was a retaliation to his father's wishes.. Draco now knew the entire Malfoy fortune lay in his lap.. and he was going to waste it, and himself away in the process..

Just out of fucking retaliation.


	2. Unintended Meetings After Dark

**Chapter 2**

_Unintended Meetings After Dark_

Hermione Granger was settled into the little cover in her home, having just read the first chapter of the book, and had started crying hysterically half way through it because of the in depth divulging into her own life.

_One girl lay still, the other refused to. One girl stopped breathing, the other didn't. One girl stopped talking, the other one talked wildly._

Hermione put the book down and got up. The 'divulging' was too much for her right now, and she'd take a nice jog to get rid of the stress.

The brunette slipped into her maroon jogging suit, pulling her caramel curls back into a messy bun, and jumping into her black jogging shoes. A relieved smile came to her face as she locked the door to her flat and set off into the park, a normal route for her.

A cold breeze settled in around her as the white-out effect started. Everything blended together, one tree blurred into another, nothing standing out distinctly.. just like her life now. After a few minutes, it would be completely black so that nothing stood-out, at all.

Hermione breathed in and out deeply, staring down at the pavement as one foot disappeared as they other came into view. It was almost like riding a bike, except without the contraption under you. A nice plus.. especially when you had no use for such a thing.

_Hermione.. you can't live your life like this._

_What do you know Ron? You go on acting like nothing happened at Hogwarts that day, like you didn't lose your sister, like I didn't lose my sister! How can you lie to yourself like this!_

_Just the same as you do! I don't think about it, I don't let reality set in for too long. I banish it just as you do Hermione. _

_I've never banished her from my thoughts. She's always present in my mind, as she is in yours. You're the one truly killing her! If she doesn't live physically, she lives in our memories, and by forgetting even those.. it's you who has truly banished her to the depths of Hell._

_SHE'S MY BLOODY SISTER HERMIONE! DON'T YOU THINK I WOULD GIVE MY LIFE JUST SO SHE COULD HAVE ANOTHER DAY TO SAY GOODBYE TO US ALL? DON'T YOU THINK I WOULD GIVE MY LIFE JUST FOR ONE MORE CONVERSATION WITH HER? JUST TO SPEND ETERNITY IN HELL WITH HER!_

_I'm not sure anymore Ron.. I'm just not sure.._

A tear rolled down Hermione's cheek as she stopped suddenly, lowering herself to the ground quickly. Hermione then pulled her knees up under her chin and closed her eyes tightly, banishing the argument with Ron. Banishing every thought of her once upon a time love. All thoughts of him, Harry.. and everyone from Hogwarts.

A strangled sob escaped through her lips as she stared out through clouded vision, out from under caramel bangs. 'Ginny..' Hermione thought weakly, burying her head into her knees as all the memories she had locked away came rushing back with such a force it made her start to sob like she never had before. It made every fiber of her being scream out in pain, in anguish.. and in loss.

"I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.." the broken girl whispered over and over again, rocking gently back and forth, hoping the pain would finally give away to a simple misery; hoping it would leave her alone and go bother someone else..

Draco Malfoy let out a cold breath; the carbon dioxide forming a small cloud as it left his lips. A sigh escaped those very same lips as he ran his hand through his fair hair, letting an unbelieving chuckle out as well.

"Granger?" He called out as he saw the girl buckle to the ground. 'Well, I knew girls fell at my feet, but this is a little ridicu-' Draco formed the thought, but it died as he heard the beginnings of a sob in the girl's throat.

Then he went pale, slowly and surely a fearful pale color. 'What in the hell is _she_ crying about?' Draco thought angrily, narrowing his eyes at the over-dramatic up-tight prude that had no reason at all to be crying, according to his standards.

"_I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.."_

"Sorry for what Granger? Did you get lost in the big scary park?" Draco asked ridiculingly. As if this little mudblood was going to get his pity.. not in a million damn years.

'Honestly though.. why would Hermione fucking perfect Granger be crying? In the middle of a public _muggle_ gathering place as well. It's just.. well, berating to the person who dare cry in such an open space.' Draco thought, sneering as he did so.. but a small corner of his mind was clouded with curiosity. 'Oh come on Draco! This is Granger.. ya know, the mudblood that made your life a living hell with her simple presence at Hogwarts! The same filthy mudblood that cause you to become infatuated with her because of that caramel hair.. those big brown eyes.. those curves that appear in all the right places.. those soft, pink li-' Draco stopped mid-thought as said mudblood looked up at him, eyes red and puffy, cheeks tear-stained.

Draco pictured Hermione running to him, throwing her arms around his chest, and crying into his (well toned) chest as he comforted her. He needed to give someone a good sympathy shag.. sympathy sex was always the best. But what he didn't expect was this:

"What in the fuck do you want Malfoy?"

"Excuse me?" Draco responded, almost stuttering in the first syllable. But Malfoys do not stutter. They simply.. struggle to find the right words to express. It is unheard of for Malfoys to stutter.. and quite a despicable low around a mudblood, at that.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Malfoy," Hermione hissed, eyes filled with malice as she sat there on the grass, fetal position implied, bawling her eyes out. Oh, and who's the only person that could and would make her life worse? Ding ding ding! Malfoy, that fucking ferret.. the asshole that made her life hell all during Hogwarts. The same ferret that.. that helped the Order when the war came. The same ferret who actually tried to save Ginny, but was one protection spell too late..

"Well, Granger, I didn't think we'd still be on a last name basis, seeing as I saved your sorry arse quite a few times in that battle t Hogwarts. If you can even call it that," Draco responded, turning his attention to his nails.

"Oh yes Malfoy, you managed to protect me even though I didn't need it, but the one you were assigned to protect died that day, do you not remember?" Hermione screamed back, all rationality lost, all reasoning gone as she stood from the ground and walked over to the said blonde whose fault it was.. it was his fault Ginny was dead.. his bloody fault!

"Please Granger, she said that I needed to protect you. Honestly, I think she would rather that you survived instead of her. Weaslette had some sense in her, even if it wasn't much," Draco responded in the same tone of malice he reserved for friends who had behaved badly behind his back.

"How dare you talk about her in such a manner!" Hermione shrieked, bringing her hand in contact with the pale cheek that stood out so fixedly against his black cloak. A small echo followed the contact, and Hermione was surprised with even herself at the actions.

"Granger," Draco hissed, grabbing Hermione's hand and backing her up against the tree that wasn't too far behind her, "Ginny said that her life didn't matter, and that if I didn't protect you, she would never forgive me and kill me herself. So you see, I had no choice but to protect you. For, as much as I hate to admit it, those Weasleys do have the will to carry out their revenge, and quite precisely as well. I don't think either of us would have wanted her wrath upon us, now do you?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, but downcast them at the same time, "Ron was my protector _Draco_," Hermione spat out, malice and regret haunting her usually calm and subtle tones.

"Ronald and I agreed to trade places. His 'big sibling instincts' finally set in, and he couldn't bear to be away from his darling little sister. Now, Granger, do you still hate me for something you should be blaming Ron for?"

"I ALREADY DO BLAME RON FOR IT!" Hermione screamed again, finally giving up and letting her knees buckle under her. More sobs racked her chest as she fell onto her supposed worst enemy, turned Order. "I blame everyone for it.. Harry, Ron, you.. but mostly myself. I promised.. I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to her. I promised I'd always be there if she needed me to help her. I-I promised that I'd die before her.." Hermione whispered weakly, tears streaming freely down her freckled cheeks again.

Draco did something totally out of character then. He wrapped his arms firmly around Hermione's waste and held her against him as she cried. "Granger, I promised the same things to my mother.. but we can't always protect the ones we love," Draco whispered softly into the girl's ear, wondering why he was doing this, and why he didn't just leave her there, alone and embarrassed.

_Because you wouldn't want anyone else to do it to you.._


End file.
